MovieChat Forums > Rurôni Kenshin: Meiji kenkaku roman tan (2012) Discussion > Thoughts on the action choreography

Thoughts on the action choreography

posted 11 years ago by shogo10
26 replies | jump to latest

One of the things that I was worried about when I first saw the trailer was how the action was portrayed, I thought it looked too over the top, and that they may have stuck too closely to how it was done in the original manga/anime series with all the crazy moves and superhuman feats.

Well after having watched the full film anyone who is also worried shouldn't be. I thought they did a great job of finding a middle ground between making the action more realistic (like in the Trust+Betrayal arc)and the superhuman elements of the main series.

Just a few points in terms of the action in the film (some spoilers if you haven't watched):

-emphasizing Kenshin's speed rather than his strength was a nice touch
-Kenshin actually doing some hand to hand combat early in the film which is a bit of a departure
-Jin-e's fear spell made it into the film even though I thought it could've done without it
-Saito's Gatotsu somehow turned into a flying move, tbh it's not that bad but it really should have been used directly on Kanryuu which would have further emphasized that Saito was stuck to his old ways
-Kenshin's battojutsu move was really, really well done I thought, actually the whole fight with Jin-e was great

Overall as a fan of the original series I came away happy with how the action was handled, there was definitely some heft put in some of the moves and I'm looking forward to how they handle next film.

[–] lordofnightmares1 11 years ago

Kenshin's speed was always his strongest point. Strength was his weakest point in utilizing Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.

Kenshin fought with his hands a few times in the anime.

Jin-e's spell is basically a very strong form of instant hypnotism, which is not too far-fetched from reality.

Gatotsu was done poorly, it looked he just float up there straight out of wire-fu movies.

[–] JohnBonDon 11 years ago

Please have respect for the genre and don't use insulting terms like "wire-fu".

[–] Tales-from-the-Goondocks 11 years ago

"Jin-e's spell is basically a very strong form of instant hypnotism, which is not too far-fetched from reality."

I completely disagree with that. Real hypnotism is nothing like what you see on live shows or movies/tv series, so instant hypnotism, especially in the way that is portrayed in the Kenshin series, is really far-fetched from reality. I don't care about realism in anime series though (or in the live action movie), so it has never bothered me in the Kenshin series/movies.

[–] EpsilonX 7 years ago

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't like Gatotsu. It was far too crouching tiger, hidden dragon for me.

[–] EnglishSummer 11 years ago

agreed.

1. the hand to hand was good to see. especially since Kenshin was a wanderer who vowed not to kill. he wouldn't only fight with a sword would he?

2. the Gatotsu doesn't look that bad if you consider it the "Gatotsu 2nd style"

3. a fan of the martial arts genre, I was really impressed with the choreography. the amount of sword fights was pretty groudbreaking and wasn't any LESS that what's come out in the past few years (Korea's Blades of Blood, Japan's 13 Assassins). that's what I was most happy about.

I like also how they did not hold back - allowing for R rated violence - sword stabs and blood.

[–] OmegaWolf747 11 years ago

The rating! I never even thought of it. I wonder what rating it would garner if released in US theaters uncut. Probably PG-13?

--
"House. My room. Can't walk. My medal. My father. Father, don't!"

[–] EnglishSummer 11 years ago

no waaayyyy. R at least. so many scenes. For one, Jin-e attack at the police station walking with a kitana straight through an officer's neck and him slashing down people across the head blood splatting. Even Kenshin's flashback of how he got his scar (as Battousai).

[–] OmegaWolf747 11 years ago

I still think PG-13. The fights in LOTR were gorier than the RK fights and those movies were rated PG-13.

--
"House. My room. Can't walk. My medal. My father. Father, don't!"

[–] henriquesp 11 years ago

Walking with a kitana?!?!
I'm picturing Jin-e dragging Kitana from Mortal Kombat by her feet... :P

[–] EnglishSummer 11 years ago

Walking with a kitana?!?!
I'm picturing Jin-e dragging Kitana from Mortal Kombat by her feet... :P

In the police station, the last hallway before the office where Mehumi was being interrogated:

We see Jin-e with a sword in a police officer's neck. Walking forward using him as a shield. When one officer attacks, he pulls it out and then strikes the attacking officer right down the middle - blood spraying. It's filmed in one take. It's brutal. It's scenes like this that seem like R over PG13.

[–] OmegaWolf747 11 years ago

Not to mention Jinei licking the blood off his sword. Yuck...

--
"House. My room. Can't walk. My medal. My father. Father, don't!"

[–] aerophex 11 years ago

there were a few F bombs dropped (at least in my translation) R rating right there

can't wait for a sequel

[–] OmegaWolf747 11 years ago

All from Sanosuke most likely.

--
"House. My room. Can't walk. My medal. My father. Father, don't!"

[–] livewire1369 11 years ago

Having never seen the original anime, only parts of it, i was hesitant to watch the movie, i totally loved it, there were times where i thought i was watching an anime instead of a live action adaptation. The fight scenes were frikkin' awesome, mixing sword play and hand to hand combat seamlessly. My next mission is to watch the original, hopefully i won't be disappointed from watching the live action movie. i wish all anime/manga were adapted as well as this one was.

There is no Justice, there is only me....

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] JohnBonDon 11 years ago

The action was great but I have no idea why you wanted realism at all in something that is based on a series with lots of fantasy.

Sounds to me like someone taking bad influence from Christopher Nolan and his Batman films which is ironic because Nolan is a terrible action director. It's an insulting mentality that just because something is in live action that means you cannot represent any kind of fantasy. Movies have no limits and Nolan's work is only a testament to his style of film making not the last word on film making.

[–] land-on-the-moon 10 years ago

uhmm.. perhaps by "realism" he might have thought of "fluidity of blending" , as in matching the movements of actors and any stuntmen or cord-work involved .

At times it was obvious the ballet and slightly amateurish movement of the actors - I mean, they were v.good, but not excellent (I'm thinking, for instance, to what Kurosawa made with his samurai-actors, real samurai , he was v.lucky in this respect - the cleanliness and smoothness of those fights is just breathtaking) ... so, the more, being a manga character, one might expect perfection.

[–] JohnBonDon 9 years ago

You're not really making any sense. I guess English is not your first language.

And you're taking the Kurosawa hype too far. Kurosawa made some good movies but none of his action scene were "breathtaking".

[–] land-on-the-moon 9 years ago

Sorry, "realism" was a bad chosen word. Kurosawa is from another register... (it just happened that I saw RK after a series of Kurosawa's old movies - the fighting there didn't look like some hyper-kendo fencing, but still powerful enough to make one forget breathing - and made the wrong comparison).

Anyway, just re-saw Rurouni Kenshin trilogy and re-evaluated the fighting choreography - it's perfect for a movie inspired by a manga & anime.

[–] elliron-clark 11 years ago

I disagree on the hand to hand combat part, Kenshin carried the reverse blade sword because he was a swordsmen and did not want to kill. If he could simply beat everyone with hand to hand then there was no point to the sword.

[–] OmegaWolf747 11 years ago

It goes along with the Restoration manga reboot, where Kenshin is hesitant to draw his sword because just drawing it seems to trigger a shift in personality to Battousai.

--
"House. My room. Can't walk. My medal. My father. Father, don't!"

[–] BlackWind-2001 11 years ago

I think the filming of the action sequences are horrible. You barely get to experiences the action with the angles and close up filming style. I've been a fan of Rurouni Kenshin since I watched the first episode of the anime and I feel I'm missing out because of the way it's filmed. Normally I'd be eager for every action sequence in a movie but in this first I'm just meh... don't care, it's disappointing. I'd never hire the film crew behind this film that's for sure. Normally I'd be extatic knowing there are two more Rurouni Kenshin on the way but after watching how the action is filmed in this one I don't think I'm even gonna bother...

[–] ScarredSwordHeart 11 years ago

The action scenes were wicked, especially Kenshin's fight with Jinei. I didn't think it was too up close. I especially loved when Kensin Ryu Tsui Sened Jinei and broke his nose.

--
"A sword is a deadly weapon. Swordsmanship is a way to kill. Whatever nice names you call it by, that is its true nature."

[–] SugarandIce 10 years ago

From the perspective of a movie goer, the choreography was beyond impressive. Some of the fights had me on the edge of my seat. That isn't easy. From the perspective of a Rurouini Kenshin fan, this film did an excellent job capturing the style of the characters. I couldn't be happier with the execution.